Fade to Darkness
by WinterSoulstis
Summary: Everyone is born with a predetermined role. A person will end up fulfilling that role whether they realize it or not. Ichigo is the saviour. Rukia is the mediator. Toshiro is the protector. Unohana is the healer. Aizen is the distorter. But what is Kimiko? What is her role to play and why are so many interested in her? Including a certain white haired captain. ToshiroxOC
1. 1 - The Beginning

**A/N: This story is going to follow the Bleach anime storyline, with alterations, for the first few chapters and then it'll go into an original arc and then back to the anime storyline with alterations (minus several filler arcs) and then original... ect...**

**Also, This chapter is entirely not from my OC's point of view but the majority of the rest of the story will be.**

**And I know that this chapter can be confusing since there's a lot of timeskips, but bear with me. There's also a short author's note at the end of this chapter to clear up some concerns you guys may have.**

Ichigo grumbled to himself, barely paying any attention to what was being taught in class. He knew he'd have to reteach himself the material later, but he had more important things on his mind at the moment: namely, a rather short, black haired transfer student. She called herself Rukia, and he knew for a fact that she was the strange person he had met the other night, even if she was currently denying it. He couldn't wait for school to be over so that he could confront her. Without realizing it, his foot began to tap out a rhythm on the tiled floor, earning him a sideways glance from the girl who sat beside him. He grumbled to himself one last time as he placed a hand on his disobedient leg to force it to stop and then did his best to refocus on the board.

The last few classes seemed to take forever in Ichigo's opinion. Luckily, he had managed to zone out near the end and soon found himself jolted awake by the ending bell. The carrot top briskly stood up and followed after the strange girl who looked as though she was expecting his reaction. He confronted her in the courtyard after they had come to a stop. Her nonchalant attitude had been grating on the orange haired teen's nerves and so he found himself yelling rather loudly the first chance he got.

"Alright you freaky little nut job! What the hell do you think your doing?!" He was seething and he made no attempt to hide it.

"Oh! How scary! You big brute, jeepers! Your not going to hurt me are you?" said Rukia in a false cutesy and innocent voice. Ichigo could practically feel a vein throb on his head.

"First of all, you can knock it off with that goody-two-shoes act, okay?!" Ichigo demanded. His patience was thin enough as it was, and it aggravated him further that she kept up her ridiculous act even though no one was really around to hear them.

"Well, I think it's pretty good!" Rukia huffed, returning to her usual self. "Considering that I learned it overnight."

"Alright forget it! So just tell me what your doing here anyway! Weren't you supposed to be heading back to your Soul Society or whatever it was?!" He demanded, trying to calm himself since his outburst had already caused more than one student to pause and watch them before moving on.

An emotion flashed across the soul reaper's face, it was something similar to worry, or maybe dejection. "I can't," she finally answered. Ichigo deflated slightly at the tone in her voice. "Only soul reapers can go back to the Soul Society and I no longer have the power to return anymore."

The teen scanned her face but saw no indication that she was lying. "What do you mean you can't go back?" he asked, much more calm than he had been before. Rukia then launched into an explanation about gigais and how he was expected to fill in for her because it was his fault to begin with.

Ichigo's jaw dropped slightly at her words and he started to yell again. "No way! I only did it to protect my family!"

One of Ichigo's classmates was walking by as he shouted that exclamation. She paused and walked up to them with a questioning look on her face. "Ichigo?" she asked, "What are you talking about?"

Ichigo's faced lost a bit of its colour as he worked hard to think up a good lie. "A video game!" He said, possibly a little too quickly. The girl raised a black eyebrow. "It- it's this new RPG thing Keigo showed me! You- you... uh... make this character and it has this family and... uh..." He struggled to keep up with the lie, but it was difficult; this type of thing wasn't his strong point.

"Oh!" she exclaimed happily, apparently fooled, "Is it Dragon Age? I love that game!" She smiled and looked at him expectantly with her large grey eyes.

Ichigo could feel the sweat on his neck, "Uh yeah! Maybe... I don't know, it was Keigo's game..." He trailed off and looked around as he tried to think of a way to end the conversation without seeming too mean. He was spared of that when the girl's cellphone beeped.

She looked down at it, startled. "Ah! Oh, no! Please don't tell me I'm late! Sorry Ichigo, can we talk another time?" The teen nodded numbly and the black haired girl took off shortly afterwards, running as if she was late for something really important.

Ichigo watched her leave and let out a sigh of relief. "Man that was close!"

"You really should keep your voice down Ichigo," Rukia chided.

He rounded on her. "Shut up! This is your fault too!"

She rolled her eyes, "I wasn't the one yelling idiot." Ichigo was about to retort when she interrupted him. "Who was that girl anyway?" she asked, successfully sidetracking him and quieting down his loud voice.

"That was- that was uh..." He paused as he tried to think of the girl's name. She was a transfer student too, but she had been with the class for several months already. As the teen thought hard about her previous question, Rukia stared down at her own phone that was flashing; her eyes steeled. Ichigo sighed, he really did suck at remembering people, but this girl was one of the few he actually did remember. "Right! That's Haruko Minami. I remember cause her name sounds so surreal; kind of like someone just mashed some words together." The orange haired teen felt proud of himself for actually remembering someone's name but then another thought struck him. "Wait a minute!" he exclaimed as he pointed accusingly at the shorter girl. "You got me off topic!"

Said girl innocently shrugged. "I was just trying to calm you down a bit before we got back to business."

"Well it didn't work!" She shrugged again but said nothing. Instead, she quickly pulled on a strange looking glove and before he could ask what she was doing, Rukia ran towards him. Her gloved hand hit him in the jaw with enough force that he went tumbling backwards. "What the hell was that for!" He angrily exclaimed as he glared at her. He then noticed something and his eyes widened. Ichigo looked down at himself and then back at his body that was lying a few feet away. "What-" He was cut off as Rukia grabbed him and began to drag him to somewhere, staring at her phone the whole way.

* * *

That night Ichigo rolled over on his bed, unable to sleep. So much had happened in a single day; Rukia had transferred in, Haruko had unexpectedly talked to him, he had fought yet another hollow, he had preformed his first konso, and he had somehow agreed to take on the duties of a soul reaper. He sighed and shoved his head underneath his pillow. With so many things swirling around he just knew that he wasn't going to get a good night's sleep.

* * *

Ichigo stared blankly at the chalkboard. He probably should have been paying attention to the numbers and symbols that were being written up there, but they didn't feel as important as they used to. His thoughts were on all the things that had happened to him the last month or so. He had accidentally gotten on TV, met a strange hat and clogs wearing man, gotten a new talking toy, fought more hollows, saved Orihime and Chad, made friends with Haruko and found out that she had gradually begun to see ghosts because of him, gotten to know Rukia better, and, saved many souls from horrible fates. Although everything was changing so quickly, Ichigo didn't find himself regretting a minute of it. He had the power to protect people and he wasn't going to waste it. The carrot top was shaken out of his thoughts by some female voices. He tuned back in to the real world to listen to their conversation.

"Earth to Ichigo," Haruko was saying as she waved a hand in front of his face in the hopes of grabbing his attention. The teen merely blinked in response; he was aware of what was going on, but didn't bother to respond since he was now trying to read what had been left on the board.

Rukia stood beside the shorter girl, shaking her head. "You're wasting your time Haruko," she said, "When Ichigo is spaced out nothing short of an explosion will snap him out of it.

"How about a hollow?" the other black haired girl questioned jokingly. As if on some strange cue, Rukia's soul pager beeped; Haruko grabbed her own cell as if on instinct. "Woah..." she said, surprised at herself, "I have some pretty good timing!" The soul reaper flipped open her pager and quickly found the hollow's location.

The familiar beeping had cause Ichigo to turn his stare towards the girls. He briskly stood, "Where?" he asked, already alert. Rukia made a motion for him to follow and they ran off: with Haruko right behind them. The realization caused the orange haired teen to alter his stride for a moment as he stared back at her. "What are you doing?" he questioned the girl who had followed along even though she knew the dangers that awaited them.

Her grey eyes met his brown ones before she smiled up at him. "I want to see what these hollow things are!" she stated, not losing her pace as they ran out through the large main school doors. "You guys always run off without me and frankly, I'm sick of it!" Ichigo could hear the determination in her voice.

Rukia looked back at her for a moment before turning to look ahead once again in order to make sure that she was still heading the right way. "But you know how dangerous hollows are, why would you-"

"I know that I may not be of any help and I know that I may not even be able to properly see them," she said, her annoyance at being powerless evident in the quiver in her voice, "But I still can't stand by! I won't stand by and do nothing! Even if I am powerless right now, I'll still find some way to help out if I have to- that I promise you."

At her words, Rukia's face gave way to a nostalgic smile. "I see. I've met your kind before, and I know you won't take no for an answer so-"

"You can't be serious Rukia!" Ichigo exclaimed, cutting her off. "Just turn back Haurko, and you won't get hurt. It's too dangerous!"

"That's not going to work," both girls chided simultaneously. They looked at each other for a second and smiled.

"I've already made up my mind," Haruko said, "And one strawberry isn't going to change it."

"Would you quite calling me that?!" He demanded, annoyed at the nicknamed he had been dubbed.

"Would you quit trying to make me go back?" The small black haired girl remarked, looking up at him rather smugly as they rounded a corner and came to a stop at the soccer field.

Ichigo heaved a sigh and ran a hand through his brightly coloured hair. "Well it's too late now Ichigo," Rukia said as the beeping from her pager intensified. She turned to Haruko as she took out her usual glove. "Stay by me, and be careful." Haruko nodded her understanding. She then proceeded to hit Ichigo, turning him into his soul reaper form. He instantly drew out his overgrown zanpakuto and charged at the hollow. The two girls stayed behind and watched him fight, both unable to provide much assistance.

Rukia turned her gaze away from the ongoing fight to look at the short black haired, silver eyed girl beside her. The girl was focused on the area where the battle was happening; this was the first time in a long time that she had properly seen a fight happen so it was no wonder that she didn't want to miss a thing. Rukia studied the girl for another moment and something about her actions caught her eye. She noticed the directions her eyes were looking, it was almost as if she was watching the actual fight and not just the resulting dust clouds. "Haruko," she started, eyes still focused on the other girl's face, "Can you actually see the hollow?"

Said girl blinked, somewhat surprised; she ripped her gaze away from the field and turned to the smaller soul reaper. "I can only see a vague shape," she replied easily, "Why?" She seemed curious as to what was up with the sudden question.

"Oh, it's nothing," Rukia said, thinking that she must have been imagining things. "It's just that you seem to be looking in all the right places so I was just curious."

"I'm just following the dust clouds and a blurry blob," Haruko said, blinking. "Why would I lie about that? Are you alright Rukia?"

"I'm fine." Rukia shot her a smile before it faded away to be replaced by something that could be considered a longing look. "I guess I'm a bit paranoid... It's just... you sort of remind me of someone I knew a long time ago in the Soul Society. Stubborn and reckless. No regard for your own safety, and strangely determined to pull your own weight."

Haruko smiled kindly at her. "I can't imagine what it must be like to be cut off from everything and everyone you know. You must be lonely, but don't worry." She looked up at her: eyes bright. "You'll gain your powers back but until you do, Ichigo and I will be here for you!"

Rukia grinned at her. "You just rhymed! Great job!" she said as they both started to laugh. Completely ignoring the fight that had finally come to a conclusion, the girls continued to laugh happily, acting as if they were old friends instead of people who had met barely a month ago.

Ichigo eyed the two laughing girls wearily, wondering if they had finally cracked. He went back into his body and dusted himself off. "Of all the people, I get stuck with two insane girls... What are you laughing about anyway?"

"Nothing much," Haruko said once she calmed down. Ichigo shook his head and led the way back to school; speed walking because they were already late for their after lunch class.

* * *

"What's going on?!" Haruko exclaimed, looking around so quickly that her shoulder length black hair threatened to whip her friend in the face. "What are those things?!" Her silvery eyes were wide as she gazed at the hoard of horrifying creatures that were appearing in all directions. The sky was littered with them and more were still coming through black holes; there was no end in sight.

Rukia's face was steeled, she couldn't afford to show any weakness, especially not when her friend was anxious enough for the both of them. Over the last few weeks Haruko had steadily found herself seeing the hollows clearer and clearer which was definitely useful, but Rukia had hoped that this wouldn't be how she'd see her first one; or her first hundred hollow as the case may be.

Haruko took some deep breaths to try to calm herself before turning to the soul reaper. "Are those-? She started a question that she had no need to finish. The young Kuchiki nodded and so she then switched to a different topic, "Rukia, do you know what's going on? This many hollows can't be normal!"

"It's not," she answered quickly as she grabbed a hold of the smaller girl's arm and dragged her into an alleyway in order to escape from some hollows that had begun to head towards them. All they could do was run, and so that's what they did. They ran around corners and down allies until they came out into the street and then they began to head towards where the majority of the hollows seemed to be gathering. Rukia was weary from all the kido spells she had been using earlier on. She would have kept fighting but with the majority of her powers gone, she was quick to tire these days. Haruko wasn't much better. She had no powers she could use and it frustrated her to no end; she would have loved to blow them all away, but she couldn't, not in her current condition, not with how things stood right now.

Halfway to the park Rukia abruptly stopped, making Haruko, who was still being led by the arm, to smack into her back. As she rubbed her nose she stepped in front of the other girl and looked into her eyes. "Why'd you stop? We have to keep going!" she said, scanning her face with worried eyes.

"No, this is far enough," Rukia responded calmly.

The other girl raised an eyebrow. "But we're not even close yet!"

"This is far enough for you," she clarified, staring at Haruko with a determined look. Said girl went to protest but wasn't given the chance. "I know that I'm repeating what Ichigo and I have said plenty of times before, but it's too dangerous." A downcast look appeared on the girl's face which caused the veteran soul reaper to feel bad about having to do this. She sympathized with her; she knew what it was like to constantly be on the sidelines, but she also knew that however much she had resented her superiors that they had been right and so she refused to back down now. "Please Haruko, go somewhere safe, and if you insist on going to see what's going on then at least look from a distance." With that said, she ran off leaving a somewhat shocked Haruko to watch her retreating back.

* * *

"Boss? What are we going to do?" A small redhead asked as he replace his giant metal bat over his shoulder after he had used it to exterminate several hollows.

Urahara waved his fan as he usually did. "We should probably just keep heading to where they're all gathering. Something interesting should be waiting for us there," he replied lightly, barely affected by the hollows surrounding him or the mess they could be walking into.

The odd group continued on their way towards the park. Kisuke watched the regular people continuing on with their normal lives and found himself rather amused. It was strange how everyone could be so calm when monsters were flying right above their heads. "I suppose ignorance is bliss," he stated to himself.

"Did you say something boss?" Jinta questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"It's nothing, I was just- Oh! Well look who it is!" As they had crossed a sidewalk Urahara had noticed a familiar black haired girl. At his voice, said girl turned and looked up at him with her grey eyes. "It's been a while, hasn't it?" The blonde man started up a conversation as he fell into step beside her. They continued heading towards where the concentration of hollows was occurring. "You rarely ever come to my shop anymore, it's like you're avoiding me."

"That's not it," she sighed, "I've been busy with plans and stuff."

"You have plans?" he asked, intrigued.

She frowned. "Not exactly, I've been running through scenarios in my head. They all tend to end badly..."

"Cheer up!" The shop owner said, "I'm sure things will all work out in the end."

The girl gave a dry chuckle, "You're so optimistic," she stated wearily. "I wish I could do that."

"Years of practice," he said with a grin. She shook her head but had a small smile on her face nonetheless. A few minutes later they had arrived at the park and were greeted with a rather dismal sight.

"Oh my, this looks interesting," Kisuke stated, waving around his fan once again.

The black haired girl gave him a look. "'Interesting' isn't the word I would use," she said as she watched Uryuu and Ichigo become surrounded by a circle of seemingly never ending hollows; and the worse was yet to come. Before their eyes the sky began to tear and a large white foot stepped out.

Her mouth almost fell open at the sight. "You have got to be joking!" She exclaimed, a mixture of anger and annoyance present in her voice.

Urahara turned to look down at her small form. "So what will you do, Kimiko?"

She looked up at him out of the corner of her silver eyes. "Nothing," she responded calmly.

**A/N: No, I did not accidentally type the wrong name! Just thought you should know before I start getting reviews pointing it out :3**


	2. 2 - A Debt

**A/N: There's still quite a bit of skipping around in this chapter but that's only because I don't want to spend chapters and chapters on the human world when it doesn't further the plot too much... Once they're in the Soul Society the jumping around should slow down somewhat and then stay at decent pace.**

**Also, don't get too used to weeklyish updates, it's most likely a fluke cause I haven't had too much work to do that would keep me from writing and I'm not suffering form writers' block. Yet. It always hits me at one point during a story... anyways... I digress... onto the story**

"Oh?" The hatted man said curiously, "You're just going to let them fight off a menos by themselves?"

A knowing grin spread over the girl's face, "I don't see you rushing to help either," she stated shrewdly as she turned her gaze back towards the tearing sky.

"Ah, you caught me," he said with his own grin. "But to be honest I half expected you to rush in regardless of the consequences."

She bit her lip before answering, "I want to. I really do. But now isn't the time, so stop trying to tempt me."

"Oh, but Kimi! It's so fun to temp and tease you!"

Kimiko sighed, she had already known that about him; Urahara had constantly prodded her about doing something "fun" over the last year or so. He claimed it was because he didn't want her to become rusty, and although he had a point, his true motives had probably been something along the lines of the fact that he liked watching her try to restrain herself.

"It's out," She stated, changing the topic. The giant gillion had finally pulled itself free of the tear and began to head towards the park just like the rest of its brethren were doing. "Are you really not going to do anything?" She asked, trying to read his features. Kimiko knew that Urahara was lazy, but there was no way he would purposely endanger the town. Would he?

"Well, _I'm_ not," he started before turning to his staff, "But they will. Ururu. Jinta. Go for it."

"Yes boss," they both responded as they readied their weapons. The pigtailed little girl balanced her gun on her shoulder and released a barrage of spiritual bullets that destroyed almost half of the hollows encircling Ichigo and the self proclaimed "last quincy". Both males looked over in their direction, shocked.

Urahara waved his fan nonchalantly, "You take care of the big guy over there and we'll take care of the small fry." They both nodded and ran off down the street.

"Are you sure they can handle it?" Kimiko asked, still not completely convinced that merely standing by was such a good idea. She was so anxious that she had taken to nervously pulling on her short black hair.

"Mr. Urahara!" Rukia cried out, running up to them and looking out of breath. "We have to do something! We have to help Ichigo!"

He just shook his head. "But it's a menos! They can't-" Her protest was cut off by the sound of the blond's fan snapping shut.

"Don't worry Miss Kuchiki," he said, "I have faith in Ichigo."

Kimiko raised an eyebrow. "You put your faith in the strangest of people," she commented quietly.

Kisuke heard her and deigned to comment. "I put my faith in _you_," he said, grinning.

"Exactly," she replied in a sigh. She still didn't understand why he had helped her. Why had he risked himself to keep her safe after the incident?She owed him a lot and she always made a point to pay back her debts. She had decided that if he ever needed her for anything, she would help him to the best of her ability.

"Haruko!" Rukia exclaimed, just now noticing the other girl. The sound of her pseudo name brought her out of her thoughts. She looked towards the female soul reaper. "You were supposed to stay away from here!" Rukia finished off a hint of desperation in her voice. She was already worried about Ichigo, she didn't need to worry about Haruko's safety as well.

The girl chewed on her lip for a split second before her previously calm demeanour quickly faded away to be replaced by wonder and shock. Kimiko mentally slapped herself for forgetting her persona. With Urahara, there was no need to pretend and so she had gotten too relaxed. But with Rukia, her guard had to be up. To Rukia she was just a relatively normal high school student who had gained the ability to see ghosts because of Ichigo's overwhelming spiritual pressure, and she planned to keep it that way for as long as possible. It was true that she dropped her guard every once in a while, but overall she was pretty consistent with the persona she had created.

Mentally prepping herself to get back into character, she turned to Rukia and put a sad childish pout on her face. "I'm sorry..." she said, doing her best to actually sound as such.

"Oh it's not her fault," Urahara intervened, "I'm the one who brought her here. She looked so lonely standing there by herself so I said that she could come along and that I'd protect her." She flashed him a grateful look which he responded to with a grin and a wave of his once again opened fan.

Rukia deflated somewhat at his words but was still obviously worried both for Ichigo and now Haruko as well. Her attention then once again turned towards Ichigo and Uryu who were currently executing some strange plan. Kimiko blinked at the scene; why did Uryu have a sword strapped to his head? When Ichigo grabbed his zanpakuto she finally understood their intentions; the quincy's bow tripled in size as the excessive and free flowing spiritual pressure made its way into him.

"That's huge..." Kimiko said as she stated her thoughts out loud.

Rukia misunderstood, thinking she was talking about the giant hollow that the two were trying to combat. "It's a menos grande. I've only ever seen one in books at the Soul Reaper Academy!"

Instead of responding to Rukia's comment she said something different. "That idiot!" The smaller black haired girl exclaimed as she watched Ichigo take off on his own. "What does he think he's doing?!" Her voice held the type the tone someone would have when scolding someone inexperienced. Situations like this put cracks in her character, it was a good thing that Rukia was too busy watching, wide-eyed, as a cero was blasted at their orange haired friend, to notice.

"That kid sure is something else," Kisuke said as they watched him deflect the mass of spirit energy with his own. It was crude, but it was enough to cause the enormous creature to withdraw, pulling the sky closed after it.

The girl watched the boys for a moment longer. She saw Ichigo collapse and Uryu begin to shoot off arrows in an attempt to release the spiritual pressure that threatened to engulf them both. Ichigo possessed an incredible amount of power for a human, frankly, it was worrying. What would he do with it? For now he was preforming the duties of a soul reaper, but would he become consumed by his own power? Could he be a danger to everyone around him? It would probably be wise to keep an eye on him, just as Urahara was already doing. Vaguely, she wondered how he found the time to watch both her and Ichigo, create new gadgets, run a shop, and still somehow always seem to be slacking off; he truly was an impressive man. She sighed and ran a hand through her annoyingly short hair.

* * *

"What do you mean she left?" Kimiko asked an agitated Ichigo. She had been taking a late night walk, something she was known for, when she had come across a cursing Ichigo. When she questioned him about what was wrong he gave a really quick explanation that had merely left the girl with more questions. Noting how worried and annoyed the orange haired teen was, Kimiko had dropped her normal happy demeanour in order to get as much out of him as she could without having to waste time on her usual, purposely naive, remarks.

"She left some screwed up note," he was saying as he waved the piece of paper in the girl's face, "that took me forever to decipher! It says that she's leaving and that I shouldn't go after her. What the hell is she thinking?!" He was angry that Rukia had done something so stupid without a single word to him even after everything they had been through. Without another word, he took off down the street at a run. Kimiko followed right behind him.

As they turned onto a different street, Kimiko fell behind; she slowed down to a jog before stopping altogether. She could sense something. Further down the street there was a clashing of spirit energy. Her eyes narrowed. The spiritual pressures were so familiar, she just couldn't place them right away. When she realized who it was, her heartbeat sped up slightly out of anticipation. She turned her gaze to follow Ichigo's retreating back for a moment longer before turning and going down a different route. Instead of heading down the centre of the street she went through the alleys and bushes; she needed to keep herself hidden. She needed to restrain herself. She couldn't do anything stupid or reckless: not now. Not yet.

When she arrived she saw her friends on the ground and her hands curled into fists involuntarily. Uryu was beaten so badly that he could barely move and Rukia had her own injuries and was panting heavily from overexertion. Ichigo was already there, facing off against two new soul reapers, one of which wore a white coat overtop the usual uniform, the other had a badge tied to his arm. "Byakuya Kuchiki..." she mumbled to herself as recognition set in, "A captain... Why would a captain be here?" Her knuckles paled from the strength of her grip.

It took a lot of effort not to get involved when the captain utterly defeated Ichigo and left him bleeding on the sidewalk, close to death. She had actually shifted her weight slightly and moved a step forward without meaning to, she caught herself shortly after and forced herself to stop. Her control of herself had grown lax over the years and it annoyed her to no end. She had let herself go and that would need to be changed, especially after this had happened. Before her eyes, the soul reapers, along with Rukia who looked incredibly sad, went back through the senkaimon.

Kimiko opted to wait a few moments before showing herself. When she figured she had waited enough, she turned the street corner and ran up to them. Ichigo was unconscious, but Uryu was still hanging on. She kneeled down beside him to get a better look at his injuries.

"It's nothing really," he said, trying to seem tough even though the act of talking was enough to cause him to flinch. She shook her head at him.

"Acting tough isn't going to score you any points," she chimed. The sound of footsteps made her turn away from him. "Urahara. Perfect timing as always."

"I do my best," he grinned as he crouched down to inspect Ichigo and Uryu for himself. "You've taken quite a beating, I can take you back to my store and patch you up if you like," He suggested to Uryu as Tessai heaved the other teen over his shoulder in preparation of the journey back to Urahara's Shop. The quincy declined, saying that all he needed was some first aid and then he'd head home. He was stubborn about it so in the end they heeded his request and let him do as he pleased. The rest of them then headed to Kisuke's place, conversing about the ordeal along the way.

* * *

Kimiko rubbed a tired eye. She had been woken up unceremoniously by a commotion and shouting. As she tuned back in to the real world she recognized the voices. "Ichigo must be awake," she said to herself as she stood up and headed to the source of the noise. Before she had a chance to touch the door to where he was resting it flew open so she came face to chest with Ichigo. "Glad to see you're finally up," she said happily.

"Haruko, sorry, but I don't have time to talk right now." He said with a determined look in his brown eyes. Even with all his unhealed injuries he was ready to go do something reckless, she could tell just by looking at him. After he had woken up, the shop owner had told him about what happened and now he was determined to go save Rukia no matter the cost. Ichigo attempted to brush past the smaller girl but she wouldn't let him; she purposely stepped to block his path.

He looked ready to protest but she cut him off, "Do you really think you can do anything in this condition? You're being an idiot. Stay and rest." Her tone was more of an order than a suggestion which caused the orange haired teen to look shocked. He wasn't used to her acting this way.

His thoughts were interrupted by Urahara. "And once you're doing a bit better you can start training," he said.

"Training?" Ichigo echoed as he turned back to look at the store owner.

"Yes training," Kisuke confirmed. "You can't honestly expect to get Rukia back without your powers. Once you've recovered more we'll start your training in preparation for what you're obviously planning on doing, but until then listen to your friend and get some rest." Reluctantly, Ichigo finally listened to them and sat back down. "Well, now that that's settled..." he turned towards the girl and motioned for her to follow him, "I need to speak with you if you don't mind." She nodded her head in understanding and they exited the room together.

"What is it Urahara?" she asked, curious about what he could want from her.

"I'm sure you've figured out what Ichigo plans to do," he started with a sigh. She nodded her head; honestly she had expected this type of reaction from him, especially after how he had acted when he first found out Rukia had gone missing. "Well," Kisuke continued, "I'd like you to go with them."

The request surprised her. "You want me to go to the Soul Society? I really don't think that's-"

"You'll end up going eventually so why not now?"

Kimiko looked down at the floor with an expression that was difficult to read. "I know that, but-!" She cut herself off with a dejected sigh. "No... Never mind..." She looked up and met his eyes with a newly determined look in her own. "I owe you a lot so I'll do as you ask. I'll go with Ichigo, but can I ask why? Why are you taking such an interest in this?"

"All in good time, my dear Kimi. All in good time," Urahara said grinning. He then waved at her and disappeared into another room.

As the door shut behind him a thought struck Kimiko. "Wait... did you say 'they'?!" She called out after him but got no response. She would have brushed a hand through her bangs out of annoyance, sadly she didn't have any. As she exited the store she was stopped by the sight of a familiar black cat.

"That's where I come in," it said, staring up at her with it's golden eyes. "Care to follow me?" The two set off into Karakura town. As they walked, Yoruichi set off on her explanation. "I'm sure you've noticed that Ichigo and the quincy aren't the only humans with powers in this town; there are two more that have caught my notice."

Kimiko looked at her with curiosity. "Which ones?"

"They're in Ichigo's class I believe, so you should know them- Ah, there's one of them now." The duo paused near a park.

Kimiko looked around the area for anyone she knew; her gaze fell upon Orihime and she arched an eyebrow. "You can't mean her, can you?"

"That's exactly who I mean," the cat said as she headed over to the bubbly girl with Kimiko trotting behind her.

Orihime noticed them as they approached and smiled happily. "Haruko! Hello! How are you? And who's your friend?"

The cat answered for herself, "My name is Yoruichi and I have a proposal for you."

Orihime's eyes widened, but instead of being shocked like a normal person would be, she instead picked up the cat and swung her around joyfully. Yoruichi wasn't too pleased about being spun so she wriggled out of the girl's hands and landed back on her feet looking as dignified as possible with her somewhat ruffled fur. "You can talk! You're so amazing!" The brunette gushed. She looked like her birthday had come early.

Yoruichi coughed to get the girl's attention before saying, "I have something you may want to hear." She then launched into an explanation about Rukia and about what Ichigo planned to do.

The usually bubbly girl grew somber as everything was explained to her. As Yoruichi finished, the brunette had a hard look in her brown eyes. "I'm going too," she said.

"That's what I wanted to hear," the cat said with a pleased swish of her tail.

Kimiko was dumbfounded. "But you do realize what you're getting into right? Going to the Soul Society is going to be extremely dangerous and for what? You don't even know Rukia that well!" She knew Orihime from their time in class together and so she knew that this girl was kind and not at all meant for fighting. What could Yoruichi be thinking asking this type of person to go along?

Orihime gasped at her words. "Haruko, this isn't like you!" The black haired girl scoffed but let her continue. "I may not have known Rukia for very long but she's important to Ichigo and that's all I need to know! I'm going to help, whatever it takes!"

Kimiko's face relaxed into a soft smile. "I see. Very well then." Orihime returned the smile with a big one of her own and then the trio set off to look for the others.

They found Chad half an hour later and his reaction to a talking cat was much more interesting than Orihime's had been. After another long explanation the large teen agreed to join them as well and so the four of them went to find the last person. They discovered Uryu already training by himself in a secluded area in the woods. As he noticed them he allowed his spiritual bow to vanish. His reaction to Yoruichi was rather funny as well, but she did her best to keep from giggling. Once he was caught up as well it was time to get down to business.

"Are you sure you won't train with us?" Orhime asked, pouting. She had been hoping that everyone would work hard together and form a close bond that would transcend time and space: or something to that effect anyway.

"I train alone," the quincy retorted as he fixed his glasses. "Although, I have a question before you leave." Yoruichi nodded, signalling him to continue. "What will Haruko be doing?"

Said girl blinked. "What do you mean?" She asked, curious where he was going with this. She wondered if she had been too obvious; he was the smartest in his grade after all.

"Orihime and Chad have both presented some form of strange powers, correct?" Everyone nodded. "But what about you? You can see spirits and hollows and you've been exposed to everything, but can you actually do anything?"

She knew he had no ill intent, but his words still stung. Being looked down upon or underestimated was a pet peeve of hers.

"I'm glad you brought that up Uryu," Yoruichi said as she stood and arched her back. The topic of the conversation eyed the cat warily. The feline jumped down from the rock she had been sitting on and when she appeared again there was something clutched in her mouth. She dropped it in Orihime's lap. "Do me a favour and put that on my paw." The brunette complied. Once the piece of fabric was securely on her left front paw she took a leap and collided with Kimiko's head with enough force that she fell backwards. Yoruichi landed safely, but the girl was forced into a roll.

"Was that really necessary?" She questioned in an annoyed tone as she straightened back up and rubbed her now sore forehead, pushing her bangs aside as she did. Wait... bangs? Slowly, she reached over and took a strand of her hair in order to get a better look at it; it was a grey colour. She sighed as she looked up and met the shocked stares of the other three people. The person who stood before them now wasn't the Haruko they knew; she lay on the ground motionless. Haruko was only a shell: a convenient doll. The one who stood before them had silvery coloured hair that reached down to her lower back instead of the shoulder length black hair they had been accustomed to. It had a slight wave to it but was nothing remarkable beyond that. Her eyes were still the same icy colour but had a different look to them; as if their owner had seen and experienced many things. She had gotten shorter and the rest of her appearance had reverted to look more childish than she had before. Save for her eye colour, she looked like a completely different person; if they hadn't seen it for themselves then they probably wouldn't have believed it.

"Well the cat's out of the bag now," Yoruichi said as she proceeded to paw at the fabric until it finally came off once again.

"How original," Kimiko said sarcastically. She was busy pulling at the shihakusho she hadn't worn in what seemed like forever. It took a lot of her self restraint to not embrace her sorely missed companion. In the end she gave up and resorted to stroking its sheath: her zanpakuto. She had missed it terribly.

The black cat leaped onto the new soul reaper's shoulder and studied the faces of everyone. "Let me introduce you to Kimiko Kitamura and if you haven't guessed already, she's a soul reaper."

"Is this when I'm supposed to say "pleased to meet you"?" The girl asked since she was unsure how to act now that she was finally free to truly be herself for the first time in a long time.

"Nice to meet you too!" Orihime said cheerfully, taking the whole thing in stride. The others were more doubtful.

**A/N: I know I say "silvery" when I refer to Kimiko's hair but in fact it's a dark grey colour that's darker than Gin's or Isane's hair. And her eyes are light grey. Just thought I should clear this up now. :)**

**And sorry about the blurb on her appearance but I figured I should get it out of the way now and then never do it again :D**


	3. 3 - Ready or Not, Here We Go

**A/N: I still don't suggest getting used to weekly updates. My muse is probably going to start playing hide and seek with me soon...**

"Great... Another soul reaper," The quincy sighed, not exactly pleased.

"You were one this whole time?" Chad asked, looking between the fallen body and the soul reaper standing before them.

Orihime studied the girl as well. "You're really cute Haru- Oh! I mean Kimiko," she gushed. "How come you hid yourself?"

Kimiko laughed sheepishly, "It's just some extenuating circumstances, don't worry about it." No one except the other girl seemed convinced in the least.

"If you're a soul reaper," Uryu said, getting everyone focused back on the important topic, "Then why haven't you done anything until now?" It was a completely reasonable question and the exact same thing she would have asked if she was in his position, but that didn't make answering it any easier.

There was a pause while she thought of a decent enough reason. "Well... I wanted to help... But I..." She cut herself off with a sigh. "I don't have an excuse that will satisfy you. Not right now anyway. But everything ended up okay in the end, right? I swear I would have jumped in if I thought anyone was in danger of being killed."

Uryu remained quiet but she knew that this wasn't the last that she'd hear of it.

Chad spoke up next, breaking the awkward silence that had fallen over everyone. "Will you help us?"

Kimiko was surprised by the question but answered with a firm nod. "To the best of my abilities," she responded.

"So in other words, you have nothing to worry about," Yoruichi said with a knowing smirk.

Kimiko didn't look impressed at her words. "Just don't get your hopes up," she said, "I don't know what I can actually do."

"As long as you try your best, that's all that matters!" Orihime stated, smiling brightly as she normally did. Chad nodded his agreement. Uryu didn't disapprove so she took that as a good sign.

"Well now that that's settled," the cat started, "We need to talk about your training." Now that they were getting down to business and the attention had left her, for the moment at least, she figured this was a good time to check over her supposed body for any damage. It was a bit scratched up from the fall but nothing too serious. She sighed in relief and dragged it to rest against a large rock before straightening back up. When she looked up at everyone again she found them staring at her again.

"Come to think of it..." The brunette started, "Why do you look so different from your body?"

"Because it's a gigai," she answered, figuring that they deserved to know at least part of the story.

"Like Rukia wore?" Kimiko nodded. "But her's looks the same as her right?" Orihime wasn't as dumb as people might think. This wasn't going to be easy.

"Urahara is the one who made it and this is what he came up with. He's also the one who made up the name "Haruko Minami"."

"So it was all his idea?" Kimiko shrugged, refusing to answer any more questions on that topic.

"Well since I doubt you'll leave me alone about this, get all the questions out of your system now," she said, "I need to get some practice just as much as you do."

"Why?" Chad asked, being extremely vague. The girl raised a pale eyebrow so he elaborated. "Why will you help us?"

"First you ask me if I will and now you're asking me why?" Chad remained staring at her so she answered him properly this time. "Because you guys are interesting and because Urahara asked me to. And some reasons of my own."

"In other words, it's complicated." Uryu summed up. Kimiko gave a shrug and a nod. For the next minute or so everyone just sort of stared at each other without saying a word. They had more questions but they knew she was just placating them; her answers were getting more and more evasive and short. The grey haired girl almost enjoyed the silence- at least silence meant she wasn't getting badgered with questions. She knew they were perfectly justified to, but that didn't mean she had to like it.

"Alright, that's enough now. It's time for your training, kids," Yoruichi intervened.

"Well if you're done with me I'll see you in a week," Kimiko said as she got back into her gigai and brushed the dust off herself. "I'll be leaving this body at Urahara's so if you need me, don't bother looking for Haruko." With that said she left the clearing, not bothering to look back at the people who were still watching her.

Uryu watched the girl stroll away with a calculating expression on his face. She had left them with so many unanswered questions. The more evasive she had been the more obvious it was that she was hiding something: probably something big. So she had been a soul reaper the entire time and yet she had never fought in a battle. Even now he couldn't sense any real spiritual pressure emanating from her. He concentrated and a little while later he felt a small presence; it was about as large as Orihime's was at the moment. That meant she wasn't very strong. He relaxed somewhat at this conclusion, now knowing that she was no threat.

He then turned back towards the others who were still hanging around. "I already said I'm not going to join your training so feel free leave." Orihime frowned at his words but the small group eventually did leave him to his training. He appreciated the peace and quiet as he called forth his bow.

* * *

"Thanks for taking care of it," Kimiko told Urahara as she stepped off his front step and began to head towards where she would train.

Behind her she could hear exaggerated sobbing. She didn't have to turn around to know what was going on. She shook her head at the antics. Urahara faked crying as he watched the young soul reaper leave. "They grow up so fast," he exclaimed as he fanned himself. Although she was shaking her head, there was a smile on her face.

As she walked away, a thought struck her. She turned her gaze to her right wrist where she wore a tight black bracelet. She unclasped it and and shoved it into her shihakusho. The second it was off, her spiritual pressure became unbound; she was going to need it if she was going to train. And it would help alleviate a worry or two that Uryu was bound to have.

Half an hour of walking later, she came to where she would be training. It was a nice clearing in the forest quite a ways away from where the quincy was doing his own training. His clearing had a nice water body while hers had a large tree near the edge of it. In one bound she made it halfway up the tree and landed on the large branch she would be using for the next week. Her training wasn't going to involved unsheathing her weapon.

Kimiko made herself comfortable; she leaned back against the thick trunk and crossed her legs, making sure not to unbalance herself as she did so. Once she was certain that she wouldn't topple over, she took her zanpakuto, sheath and all, from its resting place and laid it across her lap. She then closed her eyes and began to meditate. At first there was only silence, but soon she began to hear a swishing sound. Eventually that sound became louder and when Kimiko opened her eyes again she found herself on a mountaintop. The wind was blowing but she didn't feel cold in the slightest. In the sky a bird circled overhead before descending into a dive. Looks could be deceiving; as the bird drew nearer it got larger and larger, when it finally landed in front of her it was as tall as a house. Its massive wings kicked up the snow that she was standing on causing the girl to have to shield her face until the wings stopped beating.

Kimiko took a good look at the giant bird; it had been such a long time since they had spoken, let alone met face-to-face. The spirit looked just as she remembered. Her plumage was a mixture of colours; the tops of her wings and the majority of her body was a light blue, while her stomach and the underside of her wings were a pure white. Her talons, beak, and the trident shaped crest that rested on her head were a silver colour as well as the tips of her five long ribbon-like tails. She was a beautiful as always. Kimiko smiled softly at the nostalgia.

"_Reminiscing about the past, Kimiko?"_ The spirit said in her voice that sounded like wind chimes. It still held the same wise and understanding tone it always had. The girl was glad that some things never changed.

"I'm glad you still answered my call," Kimiko said. "It's been so long I was worried you wouldn't listen to me anymore."

With her crimson eyes she watched her master for a moment before shaking her large feathery head at the ludicrous idea. _"We are one. As long as you need me, I will answer." _In the back of the soul reaper's mind, a dark chuckle met those words. Kimiko shook her head to clear it of such thoughts. _"I understand that you're going back to the Soul Society,"_ her zanpakuto said, steering the conversation to where she really wanted it to go, "_Are you nervous?"_

""Nervous" doesn't even begin to cover it," Kimiko admitted, plopping down on a nearby rock. "Honestly, I'm scared. Scared of what will happen once I go back."

"_Of what will happen to you?" _Her large crimson eyes studied her master's features as she waited for her answer.

The girl shook her head. "Not exactly. Of course I'm scared of what'll happen to me, but it's more than that. I'm worried about what will happen to everyone else, and how everyone react." She wrung her hands as she continued. "I just don't know what to do..."

"_How unlike you," _the bird remarked lightly, _"And here I thought that you were all knowing."_

Kimiko scoffed and said, quite seriously, "Please don't joke with me right now, I'm not in the mood."

"_You need to cheer up," _the blue bird said, all joking aside. She was genuinely concerned for her master. The girl wasn't acting like herself. After such a long time she had half expected her to use her a pillow or something else to that effect but instead she was sitting off by herself and looking deep in thought. She wanted the more upbeat Kimiko, not this dreary person, and so she would do what she was best at; she would listen and help the girl work through her problems just as she normally did. Although her master has been through her share of battles, she was still a child and uncertain about so many things, even if she rarely showed it. _"Tell me what's troubling you. I can't help if you don't talk to me."_

The young soul reaper gave a resigned sigh at the sincerity in her zanpakuto's voice. She stared at the snowy ground a moment longer before looking up to meet the warm crimson eyes. "I don't know where to start..."

Hours went by as the two talked. Kimiko unloaded all of her worries, concerns, and fears and the bird listened to them all with only a few comments of her own. As they talked, the spirit hopped over to sit beside her master. Once she was beside the large rock she sat down and rested her head near the girl. The soul reaper gave a small smile at the action and began to absentmindedly stroke her light blue feathers. When Kimiko had finally finished voicing out loud everything she had kept inside for the past year, it was her zanpakuto's turn to speak. She helped alleviate a few of her worries and did a good job helping her figure out a way to deal with a few other ones. Gradually, their conversation topics became lighter and lighter until the two girls were reminiscing and laughing instead of being serious.

* * *

The week went by quicker than Kimiko would have liked. It felt way too soon to be standing in front of Urahara's shop once again but she hastily shook her head to get rid of those thoughts and entered through the front doors. No one was there to greet her so she figured they were all in the underground training area already. She easily found the trapdoor and jumped down, not bothering to take the time to use the ladder. Her landing kicked up dust and made enough noise that everyone turned to her.

"Who are you?" Ichigo asked, cautiously watching her. It was no wonder that he would be distrustful to soul reapers after what they had done, but she really didn't want to deal with this right now. Without showing any hesitation she strolled over to them.

"Kimi! Glad you could join us! Looks like the rescue team is now complete," Urahara said, grinning at her.

"Ha- Kimiko!" Orihime greeted as she waved. She was oddly cheerful considering what they were about to do. The girl mentally reprimanded herself for almost calling the other girl the wrong name. It was difficult to learn that the name of a friend wasn't actually their name, but it certainly helped that the girl looked nothing like she had before, even so, Orihime still had trouble remembering to call her "Kimiko".

"Hey, Orihime, why are you acting like you know this soul reaper?" Ichigo asked, not understanding why no one else thought it was strange that this girl appeared out of no where and was apparently going to help them. Something about her seemed familiar but he had definitely not seen her before.

"Oh- sorry Ichigo! You never saw her like this!" The brunette exclaimed, cluing in to why Ichigo was eyeing her strangely. "This is Haruko! Well... her real name is Kimiko. Kimiko... uh..." The first name she had memorized, the last name was still a work in progress.

"Kitamura," Chad added usefully in his usual quiet voice.

"Wait, are you trying to tell me this is Haruko?!" Since when had that girl been a soul reaper?! He had figured that there was something off about her, but he had never guessed it would be something like this. Was she some sort of scout? Was she even truly on their side?

The silver haired girl confirmed what Orihime had said, "It is me, and I'm going to help you, just like I said I would." From the look in her eyes he could tell she was being earnest and that was good enough for Ichigo.

He pushed all his concerns aside and said, "Good. We can use all the help we can get." Kimiko smiled at him; she realized that he must be taking a leap of faith and she respected him for that.

"Alright everyone," Urahara said, effectively gaining everyone's attention. "It's time for you to go. Just make sure to follow Yoruichi and listen to instructions well. That's all I've got to say."

Everyone nodded their understanding and they began to head towards the large senkaimon he had set up for them. Kimiko was one of the first to reach it and was just about to pull it open when Kisuke's voice made her pause.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Take this with you. I'm sure it'll help, but don't open it until you get into the Soul Society alright?" A parcel was then thrown at the small soul reaper who caught it with ease. She gazed at it questioningly but agreed to his terms so she tucked the brown package into her shihakusho and waved goodbye before stepping into the door. Everyone else followed suit, except for Yoruichi who was already at the head of the pack.

The calm of the departure was shattered as the ragtag group soon found themselves running for their lives.

"Couldn't you have timed this better?!" Uryu shouted in between his laboured breaths.

"Stop asking questions and just run!" Yoruichi instructed. The quincy complied and shut his mouth for the rest of the way.

Even though she knew she shouldn't, Kimiko chanced a look behind her and what she saw was disconcerting. Not only did they have to deal with the restrictive current but now the cleaner was gaining on them too: rapidly. It wouldn't be long until it caught up and killed them all before their rescue effort had even begun. That would be such a pathetic ending to this mission. Amazingly, Orihime was the one who saved them. She used her new found powers to create a barrier. It only lasted for a second but the impact from the shield and cleaner colliding caused a blast that threw them all out of the passageway. Ichigo practically face-planted onto the Rukon District street. Kimiko had been surprised by the sudden blast and so even though she had landed standing up she lost her balance and fell onto her butt. Uryu and Chad were luckier, they landed relatively on their feet and uninjured. Orihime and Yoruichi were the luckiest of all; the brunette landed softly on top of her orange haired friend while the cat made herself comfy on the young soul reaper's head.

"Don't rub it in," Kimiko said in a huff as she stood up, effectively forcing the cat on her head to jump off.

After the feline landed back on the ground she made a beeline for Orihime and headbutted her. "You idiot! I told you all to run and to not use your powers!" As Yoruichi lectured the girl, Kimiko took a look around. It had been quite a while since she had been in the Rukon District and yet everything looked the same: nothing had changed. Vaguely she wondered how Yoruichi felt since she had been away for far longer. Ichigo soon butted into the lecture and defended Orihime. As they talked, the grey haired girl took out what Urahara had given her before they left and eyed it curiously. She figured now was as good a time as any so she began to unwrap it. The sound of tearing paper brought everyone's attention to her. As the last of the wrapping fell to the ground her she deadpanned.

"What is it?" Orihime asked, peering over the other girl's shoulder for a better look. "Is it fur?"

Kimiko sighed. "No... it's a wig..." Clutched in her hand was a shoulder length dirty blonde wig.

"You should put it on Kimiko," Yoruichi advised, a mischievous glint in her eye. "I'm sure blonde is just your colour."

"Do I have to?" The girl whined. Of all the things that he could have given her he had decided to give her a wig. Yoruichi nodded as she looked up at the girl expectantly. She sighed again but complied. She handed the wig to Orihime to hold as she gathered up her long hair and tied it back with the hairband she had found with the wig. She then held her hair in place and held out her hand for the wig which the other girl placed in her hand. In one swift movement the wig was in place and Kimiko was doing the finishing touches by hiding a few loose strands of silvery hair. Once she was satisfied she had done all she could she turned to the others and asked them what they thought. They responded with various "it looks fine"s so she dropped her hands after one last tug on the fake hair.

Uryu was the one that brought them back to the task at hand. He looked around with a studious gaze. "Doesn't it seem awfully quiet around here?" His words made everyone else scan the area too. The streets and shops were all deserted; there wasn't a single soul in sight. Normally this area would be brimming with people but no one made a sound. It was understandable though, strange people had just fallen out of the sky, one of which carried a weapon that looked like an overgrown kitchen knife.

Yoruichi then gave them a quick explanation about the area they were in which was cut short by Ichigo asking why the buildings in the distance looked so different from the rest. He then took off towards them since he figured that was the Seireitei and that that was where Rukia was being held. He was right, but charging off on his own was idiotic. Yoruichi and Kimiko shouted after him to stop which caused him to look back at them; that change in his pace was the only thing that stopped him from being crushed as the walls crashed down only a few feet away from him. Everyone coughed and shielded themselves from the dust and rocks it kicked up; Kimiko had to keep a hold onto her wig so it wouldn't get blown off.

"Ichigo get back before-" but her warning was too late. The giant gatekeeper was already there and mockingly welcoming them. He brandished his equally giant axe as he challenged Ichigo to a fight. Kimiko looked down at Yoruichi. "We're here five minutes and already there's trouble," she said.

The cat nodded her agreement. "No one ever said this would be easy. You'd best prepare yourselves."

"That's an understatement," she stated, "Especially considering how Jidanbo hasn't been defeated for hundreds of years."

"We're going to need to think up a plan." Yoruichi's words were completely ignored as Orihime and Chad ran off to help Ichigo in the fight that was guaranteed to happen. She shouted after them but to no avail. They were only stopped in their tracks because Jidanbo had created a wall of rock by dragging his axe along the ground. He spoke to them for a second before turning back to Ichigo to officially begin their fight.

Everyone watched as Ichigo put the skills he had learned from his training to the test and they were all pleasantly surprised. He had gotten much stronger, that was true, and yet Kimiko couldn't stop herself from wondering if he was strong enough. Could he do it? She had her doubts as she watched him take care of Jidanbo; it was a good start but he was nothing compared to what they would find inside the Seireitei. The next time she looked up she saw the giant on the ground with both of his axes broken. She pushed those kinds of thoughts out of her head as she went to congratulate Ichigo on his first victory in the Soul Society. She paused when Jidanbo got back up and started to laugh.

"Oh that was close!" He said. "I can't believe I slipped!" He noticed the look of disbelief on everyone's faces and said, "Don't tell me you thought you were the one that knocked me down! How typical of a country bumpkin. All I need to do is give you another taste of my axe-" His words died down as he stared at what was left of his weapons: their handles.

"Well?" Ichigo asked wanted to get this over with and get through the gate behind him. "Are you going to do something or just stand there?" Everyone was taken aback as the giant burst into tears.

Kimiko blinked in astonishment. This guy was a gatekeeper? This idiot and crybaby? She then began to bounce off the ground as Jidanbo threw a tantrum and hit the street with his huge fists. The girl fought to keep her balance as she went to stand by Ichigo.

The two soul reapers exchanged looks before Ichigo tried to calm the big guy down. "Look I'm sorry about your axes. I guess I could have just broken one of them and let you keep the other."

Jidanbo sniffled and looked up at him with watery eyes. "No, you're not a bad guy," he said in between sobs. "Instead of just thinking about yourself you took the time to worry about your opponent and his axes. You're such a good person my spiky headed enemy!"

Kimiko sweatdropped and pitched in, "It's no big deal really. It's just strange to see a big guy cry."

The giant straightened up at her words. "I know... I'm acting like a big baby crying over a few axes. I'm a sorry excuse for a man, a total loser." And with that said he became depressed once again. Kimiko went to say something but was startled when he suddenly exclaimed, "A TOTAL LOSER! You not only beat me as warrior, but also a man! You're the first person to beat me so thoroughly and so I, Jidanbo, keeper of the Hakudo gate, will grant you passage."

Ichigo blinked at those words as a grin spread over his features. "Woah! Really? That's great!"

"So you're going to let all of us pass?" Uryu asked, wondering if it could really be this easy.

"That's right," Jidanbo confirmed. "I was defeated by your leader so I won't try to stop anyone in your group."

That comment really riled up the quincy. "Who ever said Ichigo was our leader?! Absolutely not!" He exclaimed angrily.

"It's no big deal really," Ichigo said with a sweatdrop but Uryu kept right on steething.

"So you're Ichigo huh? That's a rather cute name," Jidanbo commented.

A vein pulsed on Ichigo's head. "It's not cute! It means "number one guardian"!" He exclaimed angrily, he was sick of people misinterpreting his name all the time.

Kimiko laughed. "So you keep claiming, but I still think it means "strawberry"."

"It does not!" He cried in annoyance before calming down at a realization. He had had his doubts, but maybe this girl really was the Haruko he knew after all. It was still difficult to believe, but he could see the similarities every once in a while.

Jidanbo laughed at their argument before making his way towards the gigantic gate. He gave them a last warning, "Be careful. The people passed this gate are all very strong, but you seem determined to go anyway so I won't stop you," as his muscles bulged as he began to move the gate. It creaked and groaned but soon began to be lifted by the giant. Kimiko watched in awe as the Seireitei came into view, but that nostalgic feeling didn't last very long. Immediately she sensed a familiar spirit energy. Both her and Jidanbo froze, causing Ichigo to run up to them to see what was the matter.

Before them stood a silver haired man in soul reaper attire with the painstakingly familiar white haori overtop. He had his usual grin on his face was he watched them all through slitted eyes. Even if she couldn't see his eyes, she still felt when his gaze fell on her and that broke her out of her stupor. Her eyes narrowed into a serious expression and she quickly stepped behind the giant so that he would hide her from view. She knew it was a cowardly thing to do, but what were her other options? She made a motion for Ichigo to do the same since there was no way he was good enough to face a captain yet, but the fool didn't move.

"Who is that guy?" He asked the two who he thought were behaving oddly.

Jibando was the one who answered, "That is the captain of squad 3, Gin Ichimaru."

Said man chuckled as the introduction was made for him. He then turned his gaze from the girl who had hid from him to the giant who was holding up the gate. "Oh, not good." Before anyone was completely sure what had happened, a large bleeding gash appeared on Jidanbo's left arm, rendering it useless. The loss of an arm also caused the gate to begin to collapse on them but he used his amazing strength to keep it up, even though it took all of his ability to do so.

"Unacceptable," Gin chided, never losing his grin. "Being a guardian of the gate doesn't mean you should open it." Jidanbo tried to defend his actions by saying that he had lost and it was his duty to allow them passage, but Gin wouldn't hear of it. "What you're saying makes no sense. A gate keeper who loses isn't supposed to open the gate. A gatekeeper who loses is supposed to die." At that declaration Ichigo charged forward and clashed swords with the captain. As they jumped apart, the orange haired teen demanded to know what he thought he was doing attacking an unarmed opponent. Ichimaru merely grinned wider, intrigued by the kid who had attacked him so recklessly and was clearly unafraid of him.

Forgetting her own safety, Kimiko ran forward and shouted after him, "Don't be an idiot! You're going to get yourself killed! Come back!"

"Don't be a fool Ichigo and listen to us!" Yoruichi called out, somewhat frantic, "We have to retreat for now!" That started an argument between the two that was interrupted by their enemy speaking up.

"So you must be Ichigo Kurosaki, which means..." He trailed off and looked at the girl for a moment. "Yes, I can see it now. How very predictable." With that said he turned around and began to walk away from them, much to Ichigo's astonishment.

"Hey!" He called out, "Where are you going?!"

"All the more reason why I can't let you pass," the silver haired man informed them and as an afterthought added, "You're going to have to do better than that, you know." Kimiko's eyes narrowed as she once again called for Ichigo to get back, especially after she saw him draw his deceivingly small weapon.

Ichigo ignored her yet again. "If you want to fight why are you standing way over there? Unless you plan on throwing that dagger."

"It's not a dagger," Gin replied, "This is my zanpakuto." In one swift and fluid movement he was facing them and poised to strike. "Shoot to kill, Shinso!" Kimiko's silver eyes widened, she knew what was coming and had barely enough time to dive out of the way before his sword extended at a frightening pace and with enough force to send both Ichigo and Jidanbo flying backwards. With it's anchor gone, the gate began to fall back to the ground.

Gin walked towards the gate and Kimiko, who was standing the closest to the falling mass. He grinned and waved at them. "Bye bye," he said mockingly. When he noticed Kimiko's glare on him he added, "Hope to see you again hm? And you know... blonde isn't really your colour."


	4. 4 - Unravelling

**A/N: I'm posting this before my pattern of a week between and on Wednesday since Wednesday is actually a really random day to be posting. The week end makes so much more sense so that's when I'll most likely be posting from now on whenever I post. ^^;**

Kimiko closed her eyes as the wind rushed past her from the closing of the gate. When she opened them again, apprehension coated her features. He had known. Even without her spiritual pressure he had been able to tell who she was; then again, a wig wasn't exactly the best of disguises. From a distance it worked well enough and most people would be fooled as long as she didn't stay close for too long. She convinced herself that as long as she didn't run into any of _them_, she would be fine. She then turned her expression into a neutral one and hoped that no one had noticed that anything was wrong: they hadn't. They were all too busy making sure the two who had been thrown back were alright; Kimiko ran to join them as well.

Once she got there she noticed that Ichigo was perfectly fine, if a little annoyed, but Jidanbo still had the huge gash on his arm from earlier. Gin was merciless; he could slice someone to pieces and never stop grinning. They had been fortunate, however, Ichigo looked like that was the last thing he wanted to hear so the girl kept her mouth shut. Yoruichi trotted over to them to make sure everyone was fine. As she inspected the duo she met Kimiko's gaze and it was as if a secret message had been exchanged in that instant. Yoruichi had silently asked if everything was alright, and the soul reaper had given a quick, but slightly hesitant, nod. The feline then turned her golden eyes towards Ichigo and chided him about his recklessness. The lecture ended with Ichigo telling Orihime to fix the giant's wound and with Kimiko bringing everyone's attention to their surroundings.

As they had been talking, the Rukongai citizens had tentatively come out of their houses and stood on the street. Slowly, the area began to fill up with the people they had known had to be there, but had yet to see. They were muttering to themselves and watching the intruders cautiously.

"It seems they were all hiding," Uryu stated, scanning the street that was quickly being filled.

"It makes sense," Chad commented, referring to the fact that any normal person would be suspicious of people who fell out of the sky and then had a battle with the nearby gatekeeper.

Yoruichi took this as a good time to educated the newcomers on a bit more about the Soul Society. "People like us who come here without a soul reaper guide are labelled as "ryoka" and are said to the the root of all kinds of problems." When they learned that they were automatically suspected of wrong doings, all the humans readied themselves for another battle.

An older, and somewhat balding, man then made his way through the crowd and addressed the strange people before him. "Please stop, allow me to introduce myself. I am the elder of this area. I want to say that we all witnessed what happened just now and we would like to welcome you as Jidanbo's saviours." With that said, everyone gathered around them, no longer looking as scared. They watched as Orihime began to inspect their friend's wound as the elder explained about how there were many rotten soul reapers but how Jidanbo was not one of them. Kimiko raised a pale eyebrow, apparently they didn't figure that she or Ichigo counted as soul reapers since no one claimed they were exceptions as well.

"We saw how you stood up to Gin Ichimaru," one the the residents said, "So you must be good people."

"And foolhardy. Don't forget foolhardy," Kimiko added cynically causing several people to take notice of the little soul reaper: Ichigo being one of them.

"Why do you always sound like you're lecturing me?" He questioned, brow creased. Ever since Rukia had disappeared, the girl standing before him had been acting like a different person. Had everything about Haruko, from her looks to her personality, been a lie? Why? Why would such deception be needed? He shook his head to clear those thoughts; he could worry about that later, after Rukia had been saved. Once that was done, Kimiko had a lot of explaining to do.

"Sorry," she sighed, bringing him out of his thoughts, "I guess I'm just on edge. Being in the Soul Society again and running into a captain right off the bat, it's a bit stressful to say the least."

Before he had a chance to ask why, their attention was drawn to a confident looking Orihime. "I can heal this wound no problem!" She claimed with a large smile. "Soten Kisshun, I reject!" Her words called forth two tiny spirits who forged a golden dome between them, and before everyone's eyes, the injury on Jidanbo's arm began to mend itself.

"So those are her powers," Kimiko mused, fully intrigued. "They're definitely something."

"Wait- You knew she had powers?" Ichigo questioned, looking dumbfounded. "When did she get those?" The girl merely shook her head at his lack of awareness.

* * *

The night came sooner than anyone had expected, but the elder of the area had been kind enough to allow them all to stay at his house; and that was where they currently sat as they discussed what they would do next.

"Well the gates are out of the question," Kimiko stated calmly, although on the inside her mind was doing it's best to try to figure out another way to get inside. She was coming up blank.

"We're giving up?! Why?!" Ichigo demanded loudly, not liking her tone of voice.

Yoruichi spoke up, "Think about it Ichigo. After our little stunt, security is going to double around the remaining gates. Not to mention that the next closest gate isn't close at all and we'll just waste time trying to make our way to it."

"So then what the hell are we going to do?" the orange haired teen asked. Obviously annoyed about the problems they were facing.

"We're going to enter another way," the cat stated like it was the most obvious thing in the world. This perked the wigged soul reaper's interest.

"How?" She questioned, unable to think of a way herself. "You already know about the sekki seki rock that surrounds the entire area so we can't just break our way through. So how then?"

Yoruichi swished her tail from side to side as she answered, "I have a friend who can help us." She then turned her attention to the elder. "Do you happen to know where Kukaku Shiba currently is?"

The old man looked taken aback for a second before it was replaced with shock, or maybe it was fear. He clearly didn't like this idea in the slightest. "Are- are you sure?" He asked, questioned their sanity more than their resolve. "Why would you want to go that way?!"

"What way?" Orihime asked. The man was spared from answering by the sound of stampeding hooves outside. "Hmm? What's that?"

"Hooves?" Uryu suggested, looking around for the source of the sound.

"But what-" Kimiko's words were cut off by something flying through the front door. Everyone instantly got up and moved out of the way of whatever, or whoever, it was. Orihime screamed as the body rolled to a stop in the centre of the room. "Ah, the strangeness of the Soul Society, how I've missed it," the younger soul reaper claimed sarcastically as everyone waited for the man to get to his feet and explain himself.

"HUH?!" Ichigo exclaimed as he caught sight of what had followed the man into the room. "What's a boar doing here?!"

As the strange man straightened up and brushed himself off he said something about Bonnie and how he really needed to stop being chucked by her. He then took notice of the elder. "Hey old man! It's been a long time!"

Said person shook his head frantically and when he spoke, his tone was full of worry, "This isn't a good time Ganju. You should leave!"

Ganju seemed shocked at being kicked out of a house he was obviously comfortable with. "What gives? I know it's been a while but is that any way to treat me? I mean, what will your guests think?" He then took a look around the room and paused once his eyes landed on Ichigo. "What the hell is a soul reaper doing here?!" He went from amused to angry in a split second.

Kimiko deadpanned. "What am I? Chopped liver?" She asked in annoyance. She was even standing right next to Ichigo and yet the Ganju guy didn't pay attention to her in the least.

Even Ichigo ignored her as he glared at Ganju. "What did you just say?" He asked dangerously.

The man accepted the unvoiced challenge and walked right up to the orange haired teen. He mockingly patted him on the face as he repeated himself. "I asked why the hell a shitty soul reaper was here." The two glared at each other for a moment before Kimiko forced her way between them.

"Would you knock it off? Don't you have anything better to do?" She asked, the question was directed at both boys.

Ganju looked down at her, just noticing the little soul reaper for the first time. He then pushed her aside and said, "Move little girl. This is no time for you to be playing soul reaper." Without warning, Ichigo punched the other guy in the jaw and sent him flying.

A vein throbbed on the girl's head at his words. She was not _playing_ soul reaper- she was one! It was her annoyance that kept her rooted to her spot instead of trying to break up the fight that had started. If she was lucky, they'd wear each other out and make the night less noisy. The only reason Kimiko found her attention drawn to the brawl was because of the new guy's unique kido skill; she had never seen someone use kido to turn a surface into sand before. It went to show that something as rudimentary as kido was not limited to what was taught at the soul reaper academy, or what you could read in books. With some ingenuity, anything was possible.

At a loud ringing noise that sounded out of nowhere, the strange boar-riding people sprinted away as if they were about to be murdered, leaving everyone dumbfounded. "Er... What just happened?" Kimiko asked blinking in a somewhat stunned state, still trying to process everything. Everyone shook their heads: no one had a clue.

"It doesn't matter anyway," Yoruichi said, trying to steer the group in the right direction, "Just go back inside and get some sleep. We have a long day tomorrow." They all agreed, if slightly reluctantly, and headed back into the elder's house.

The night quickly passed by and everyone was once again standing outside the house, ready to go. Well, almost everyone. Ichigo was nowhere in sight and when Uryu went to check on him they found out he didn't plan on leaving until he finished his fight with the Ganju guy. The problem was solved by a scratch to the face and a yet another lecture from Yoruichi. A few minutes later they were finally on their way to track down this Kukaku Shiba person.

* * *

Hours later, patience was running low after spending most of the day walking around in the sun and having nothing to show for it. Kimiko was one of the most affected. She'd never been a hug fan of heat, or the beach, or the sun in general for that matter; it's not that she was a recluse, it's just that she preferred cloudy to sunny weather in most cases. Today was not one of her favourite kind of days and that, coupled with the fact that they still hadn't managed to find Kukau's house yet, did nothing for her mood. She had long ago abandoned idle chitchat and had resorted to staring at the ground as she walked. It also didn't help that her wig was becoming almost unbearably itchy; it took all of her willpower not to scratch it and mess it up.

"Uryu! Hey Uryu! Where the hell is this place?!" Ichigo demanded to know from their current leader, the only one who had the rough map given to them by the elder.

The quincy felt a vein throb on his head, he was in no mood for this type of thing so he instantly snapped back, "I'm following the instructions perfectly! If you think you can do better then go ahead and try, oh great leader!"

"I was just asking," the substitute soul reaper retorted. "Don't get your panties in a bunch." His words did nothing to calm the irritated black haired teen in the slightest.

Orihime, who could sense an argument breaking out, piped in, "I bet Kukaku is the type of master who lives far away from people so he can meditate in silence!"

Yoruichi looked up at the brunette. "I'm curious as to what you imagine Kukaku to be like. However, living in these types of surroundings is just Kukaku's personal preference." With that said she trotted on ahead leaving everyone to wonder what she could have meant. As they began to walk again, the cat told them about her friend's habit of constantly moving but how the houses were all very easy to recognize.

Another half hour of walking took them to a clearing well away from the town they had started their journey in. "Ah," Yoruichi said, breaking the silence that had fallen, "There it is." Everyone rushed to the top of the small hill and were then rooted to the spot at what they saw: a variety of expressions on their faces.

"You call that a house?" Kimiko asked with a pale raised eyebrow. She was having a hard time seeing why anyone would want to live in something like that: something so flashy and obnoxious.

Orihime, on the other hand, had the exact opposite reaction. "It's amazing! I love the giant arms!" She exclaimed before she eagerly ran up to take a closer look at them. The other sane people sweatdropped but followed suit.

Once they reached the stone arms they were stopped by two strange twins. They were spared another battle when the twins took notice of the black cat in their company. After that, it was as if they were welcomed guests instead of intruders. The ragtag group was led in through the front doors and immediately down a long set of stone steps. Was this entire place actually underground? And what was that extremely large chimney for?

They were soon stopped in front of a wooden sliding door. The twin that had remained to be their guide knocked on the door and announced their presence. Inside the room they were met with the sight of a

very well-endowed woman. Everyone blinked in shock; they had come to the conclusion that Kukaku would be some sort of man. Kimiko scoffed at herself for letting them steer her in the wrong direction, she shouldn't have just gone with the public opinion without thinking it through herself because in her experiences, sometimes the generally accepted opinion couldn't be further from the truth.

The visitors stood around awkwardly as Yoruichi and Kukaku began to talk. Their conversation quickly shifted to the favour Yoruichi needed and they got down to business.

* * *

Kukaku was scary. That is the conclusion Kimiko came to after she saw how she had dealt with Ichigo and Ganju fighting. The woman was obviously insane, but at least she hadn't kicked them out. She had even agreed to assist them with her Flower Crane Cannon. The girl wasn't too keen about being shot through the air to get to the Seireitei, but it was their only option and so she couldn't afford to be picky. She just hoped that Ichigo would be able to master the cannonball in time.

Orihime had gotten it right away; she was a natural at conducting her spirit energy. Uryu hadn't had any real problems either, he claimed this sort of thing was simple for someone like him even though his had been more of a narrow oval than an actual sphere. Even Chad managed to do it with relative easy although his was still a bit unstable. Ichigo had nearly popped a blood vessel from his strenuous attempt and yet he got no viable result whatsoever. When it had been Kimiko's turn she had been hesitant but she figured that she had to stop hiding if they were going to work together so she took the ball, balanced it on a single finger, and put just enough spirit energy into it to create a stable sphere. The others were in awe of her ability but this was no big deal; every soul reaper knew how to control their spiritual pressure; although, she was better than most, but that just came with the territory.

* * *

Inside the Seireitei, in a side alley, hidden from prying eyes and ears, two captains met.

"So how was he?" The older captain asked as he wiped his glasses with the sleeve of his haori.

"Pretty weak," his comrade answered, "You sure he's the one?" He studied the other person through his slitted eyes.

"Yes," Aizen replied with a glint in his own brown ones. "But it may be a while until he's ready." He looked around to make sure they were still alone. Satisfied that they were, he finished off with, "Is that all, Gin?"

"Hmm? Oh, I also saw an old friend at the gate with Ichigo," Gin stated, his grin becoming wider than it already was.

"An old friend?" The brunet asked, intrigued.

"Don't be coy," Gin chimed, "I know you've kept an eye on the World of the Living so you know what I'm talking about. Should we do anything about it?"

He shook his head. "There's no need. She isn't an idiot, but we should still keep an eye on her."

"Very well Capt'n, will do." Their conversation was ended abruptly by a Hell Butterfly. It fluttered between the two and emitted an otherworldly tinkling sound. "Oh? A message? After you then." He motioned with a flick of his hand that Aizen should be the one to receive the message.

The black butterfly landed onto his finger and the words recited themselves in his mind. Once it had completed its job the insect flew off again. "Looks like a captain's meeting has been called. It seems to be concerning you Gin."

Said captain's grin stretched further. "Is that so? Well you'd better get going then. I'll just hang around until I get my own summons." With that said, the two parted ways. Aizen headed to the meeting room while Gin returned to his squad until he received his own Hell Butterfly telling him to head to the squad 1 barracks. He was the last to arrive for a meeting that would come to a premature end.

* * *

There was a stunned pause as everyone hovered high in the sky after their cannonball broke apart. No one was completely sure what had just happened, but as the realization finally sunk in, people began to freak out.

"How are we just floating?!" Ichigo demanded, looking around wildly as if the answer would randomly present itself to him.

As usual, the cat was the one who took the initiative. "Don't get separated!" She warned. "The residual energy will only hold us for so long. Soon it'll transform into a whirlpool and then explode." Only seconds after she finished talking everything she had predicted began to occur. Everyone instantly grabbed for the nearest person to them as they were hurled around in the violent currents of spirit energy. Ichigo and Ganju were forced into a pairing as were Chad and Orihime. Yoruichi deftly landed on Kimiko's shoulder and everyone watched in horror as Uryu become the first person to be blown away.

However, Chad refused to let that happen, and so he let go of Orihime, who yelped in protest, and took off after the quincy. He reached him too late and they both fell out of the vortex. Not wanting them both to suffer, and knowing that he would be the most likely to survive this type of fall, Chad grabbed a hold of Uryu and threw him with all his might back inside the whirlpool and straight into Orihime. The two clung onto each other as they watched their friend be blasted to the ground in a flash of orange energy.

With Yoruichi's encouragement the remaining people made one last desperate attempt to join up but it was all in vain. Kimiko and Ichigo's fingertips brushed passed each other but they were thrown apart before they could get a proper hold; Orihime had been less than an inch away from them before she too was blasted in a different direction.

As they sped towards the ground the harsh wind buffeted the black feline so hard that her claws cut right through Kimiko's shihakusho forcing the two to separate. Yoruichi barely had time to shout, "Don't worry, just don't do anything reckless!" before she was blown away. Although it was strange to be by herself after so long, she couldn't help but feel that this was for the best. Now she wouldn't have to worry about hiding: not from her friends at least.

As the ground of the Seireitei drew nearer and nearer she was forced to think fast. How was everyone going to survive this type of fall? How was she? A thought struck her, but it was risky. She would have to be fast or risk exposure. She gripped her zanpakuto's purple hilt and drew it swiftly. "Spread your wings, Aisutori!" She called out her shikai command. The blade lengthened and a dark blue stripe ran down three quarters of its length. The hilt faded to a light blue colour and a silver chain extended from its end that was attached to two black shackles; one fastened itself around her forearm and the other around her upper arm. Kimiko pointed her sword at the ground and released a short burst of spiritual energy through it; seconds before she hit the ground she let her shikai dissolved and replaced it in its sheath.

* * *

Gin, along with his squad, watched the ryoka separate into five groups who all headed in different directions. He watched the flashes of light with great interest. Who was in which one? It was almost like a guessing game, and he found it thoroughly entertaining. Where would they land? And who would they face? This was getting more and more interesting. The captain's fox-like grin stretched larger as they drew nearer and nearer to the hard Seireitei floor. Just before the flashes connected with the ground, bursts of spiritual pressures appeared all over the place from the ryoka trying to break their falls. One pressure in particular started the squad members talking.

"Captain?" His blond lieutenant asked, getting his superior's attention. "Did you feel that spiritual pressure? It seemed so-"

Gin cut him off. "Yes, but don't worry Izuru." He then turned to his squad and addressed them as well. "I know you all felt something strange there. You just have to remember that this isn't the first time you've felt this pressure. These are the same ryoka that tried to get through the Hakudo gate where they fought in a few battles."

Izuru blinked once he realized what his captain was getting at. "I see, the spiritual pressure felt familiar because we felt it when they fought against you after they got past Jidanbo."

"Very good Izuru," Gin praised with his usual grin. A glance around the rest of his squad told him that they all easily accepted the explanation. That was good; they didn't need to know everything yet.

* * *

The impact caused her no harm, she was probably one of the luckiest when it came to her landing. She prayed that everyone else had somehow managed as well as she got to her feet. Once the girl had stood up she began to brush herself off: pure white snow standing out brightly against her black attire. As the last of it came off, she stared at the snow pile and wondered what she should do about it. Should she leave it or get rid of it somehow? In the end she figured that covering it up would keep them off her trail for little while longer so she held her hands out in front of her and said, "Hado 33: Sokatsui." Blue flames shot out from her palm and melted through the frozen water. Her landing and the kido blast brought her location to the attention of a nearby squad, however by the time the soul reapers got there she was gone; all they found was a puddle on the street.

Kimiko stood on a high roof and took a good look around. From her vantage point she could see several of the streets that surrounded her and no one paid much attention to her since she wore the same uniform as them; they most likely figured that she was someone on lookout. Whenever she was asked any questions she always knew the right answer to get them off her back; no one pried too deeply since they were too busy trying to locate the ryoka. A few had yelled at her about slacking off but she took it in stride and bit her tongue so she wouldn't snap back at them. She would just nod her head and stare at the ground until they wore themselves out and left her alone again. Eventually she had to jump down and pretend to go on patrol.

An hour later the young soul reaper was walking through the streets and scanning her surroundings for any clue as to where the others were or what happened to them. She tried to detect their individual spirit signatures but she couldn't. There were thousands and it overloaded her senses if she tried to pick through them all for specific ones. She also wasn't too familiar with their signatures to begin with which made things so much harder. Kimiko quickly gave up trying to find them that way and resorted to the more primitive "walk around and hope you run into a clue, or better yet, the actual person you're looking for" plan. She got lucky when she came upon two chatting soul reapers who were obviously taking a break.

She walked up to them and startled the duo by jokingly saying, "Slacking off? What would your superiors think?"

One of them held a hand to her heart at the sudden intrusion to their conversation. "You startled me!" She exclaimed as she exhaled to try to calm her rapidly beating heart. "I swear this is our actual break time!"

The guy she was with put an arm around her waist protectively and narrowed his eyes at the one who interrupted them. "Why does it matter to you anyway?"

Kimiko shrugged nonchalantly. "It doesn't. I'm just curious as to why you're standing here instead of chasing after the ryoka that are running amok."

The girl fidgeted somewhat and looked ashamed at herself. "Well after what we heard... There's no way that I could fight them! And Kiyoshi... he's just trying to help me feel better."

The wigged soul reaper tilted her head to the side in a questioning manner. "What happened? What did you hear?" She was eager to hear what they had to say; this could be useful information.

"Some people from squad 11 were taken down! Squad 11! Can you imagine how strong these ryoka must be?!" The girl looked scared at the prospect and her boyfriend held her tighter as a form of comfort, so that she knew he was there for her.

He then added, "It was fifth seat Ayasegawa and third seat Madarame. They're some of squad 11's best and they were taken down as if it was nothing! From what I hear it seems like their captain is out for blood. He's looking all over for the one who beat them."

Kimiko outwardly cringed, feeling sorry for whoever had become Zaraki's target. However, if it was Ikkaku that had been taken down than it stood to reason that it had most likely been Ichigo who had fought him. "I pity the one who has to face Kenpachi," she stated with a sympathetic shake of her head. "Anyway, I get why you're scared but you really shouldn't just hang around, for fear of the people above you if nothing else."

Kiyoshi sighed. "I suppose she has a point. Come on Akira, we should go do something before someone rats us out to Captain Tosen."

Kimiko blinked. "Tosen?" She repeated slowly. "As in Kaname Tosen?" The other two eyed her strangely due to her lack of proper etiquette, but she paid them no mind. "Captain of squad 9 I suppose." She gave a short dry chuckle at the thought. "Well... It makes sense but..." A frown tugged on her lips at the idea.

Something clicked with Akira as the watched the other soul reaper's mannerism. She leaned in and brushed aside the long blonde side bangs that covered almost half of the other girl's face. The sudden touch surprised her so bad that she took a step back and looked at her shocked with her large grey eyes. "Wait..." Akira took a step forward to get a better look at girl who was backing away. "You look..." As the realization dawned on her she froze looking as though she had just seen a menos. "Cap-"

Her silver eyes narrowed and she lounged forward to cover the girl's mouth with her hand before the other girl could finish the sentence, taking the duo by surprise. "I'd really prefer that you didn't call me that," she said seriously. "I appreciate the information but it looks like I can't just let you go. Sorry." With that said she hit their necks hard enough to knock them both out and lowered their unconscious bodies to the ground gently. She left them both at the end of a nearby dead end street leaning against the wall and each other as though they had fallen asleep. She sighed deeply; she was going to have to be more careful.

**A/N: Before some people get ravenous because of her zanpakuto I just want to say that it serves an actual purpose in plot somewhat and relationships :D **

**Also, I know all about marysues and I don't want Kimiko to end up like that so if you think she's drifting that way please tell me! :o**


End file.
